


Shell Children

by MusicalRaven



Category: Game Grumps, Good Game (TV 2017)
Genre: Day At The Beach, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Sandcastles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-02
Updated: 2017-12-02
Packaged: 2019-02-09 19:29:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12895107
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MusicalRaven/pseuds/MusicalRaven
Summary: Alex and Ryland make sandcastles on the beach





	Shell Children

**Author's Note:**

> As soon as the episode came out where Ryland started playing in the sand, I knew I needed to write something about them at the beach. Wrote it that day too lol, thanks random anon. Posting it here because dammit we need more Rylex in the tag

“We don’t need kids toys, Alex,” Ryland said, sighing as Alex held up the plastic pail and shovel with a pout.

“But- but how else will we make sand castles?” He whined, shaking the pail in Ryland’s face. He pushed the pail away, a trace of a smile on his face.

“With our hands. Now throw those back in the trunk or we’re going home.” He gestured at the open trunk, giving Alex a very pointed look. Alex stared at him for several seconds, fingers gripped tight around the toys, before letting out a defeated sigh and tossing them back.

“ _Fine_ ,” He said, slamming the trunk closed. “But if your sandcastle has no form, don’t blame me.” Ryland snorted a laugh, gesturing at the beach. Alex strode forward, arms crossed in mock anger. Ryland trailed behind, an amused smile on his face.

Besides the plastic toys, neither of them had bothered with much else. Ryland was still dressed in a long sleeve shirt and black hoodie, Alex still in a frighteningly bright polo. It wasn’t as if they planned to go into the ocean, and both planned to head straight into the shower after so it didn’t really matter what they wore. At least, those had been Ryland’s reasons that convinced Alex, who had planned to wear an actual fucking speedo. Ryland still shuddered at the thought.

They settled on a small spot close to the ocean. Far enough away that they wouldn’t accidentally get soaked, but close enough for moldable sand. There were already other people with the same idea, mostly kids. Alex glanced back at Ryland and gestured at the pails and plastic shovels in their hands.

“They’re kids, Alex,” Ryland said, knees hitting the sand with a dull /thud./ “They’re not trying to make legit sandcastles.”

Alex plopped down next to him, sitting criss-cross with his hands on his knees. “But you didn’t bring _anything_. Couldn’t we just-”

Ryland was quite done with Alex’s complaining. With a quick glance to make sure no one was staring at them, he leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to the corner of Alex’s mouth. As expected, he promptly shut up, going a bit red in the face. Ryland wasn’t exactly keen on public displays of affection, or affection in general, but he knew Alex enjoyed it. It made the rare moments he chose to easy to use for his own purposes.

“You done?” Ryland asked eyebrow raised. Alex glanced down at his lips then back at his eyes. “If you shut up, I’ll give you an actual kiss,” He added, much to Alex’s obvious excitement. He nodded quickly, eyes lit up and wide. Ryland smiled softly and leaned forward again, pressing a long kiss to his lips. Alex leaned into him, sighing quietly.

After a few moments, Ryland drew back fully, rocking back onto his knees. He smirked at Alex’s now ridiculously red face before finally concentrating on his true mission. The sand.

He plunged his fingers into the semi wet sand, scooping out handful after handful and stacking them into a sizeable mound at his side. He expected Alex to offer help, but when he turned to politely decline, he saw Alex had started his own much smaller mound. He was humming, something soft and unidentifiable as he patted his sand hill into a flat surface. Ryland shook his head, fighting a smile as he turned back to his own work.

They spent the next couple hours like this, Ryland very intent on his project. Alex gave up on his pile pretty quickly, sticking a piece of seaweed over the top and declaring it conquered before stomping it into oblivion. Ryland automatically sheltered his sandcastle but Alex was already wandering off. Ryland didn’t spare him another glance, fingers smoothing over the organic structure and a smile that had settled on his face for quite a while. Fuck, when had he last been this happy? Ages, for sure.

As time went on, Ryland built more and more, a veritable kingdom of spheres and cylinders. Alex, he noticed, had been collecting shells and leaving them on his ruined mound. He kept looking over to find the pile had grown, but no Alex in sight. Finally, once he was satisfied with his sandcastle kingdom, he stood and searched the beach with his eyes. While he was slightly worried about him disappearing, he was more concerned with getting to show off his masterpiece.

It took him a couple minutes, the beach having filled up without him realizing. Kids screaming and chasing each other, swaths of sunbathers laid out on towels, and overenthusiastic dogs blocked his view most of the time. It was pretty damn frustrating.

It figures what caught Ryland’s eye was his fucking polo. He saw a flash of the bright orange, blinked, and then there was Alex, getting chased by one of the dogs.

He was laughing, hair proofed up and slightly damp as he ran closer to the ocean. The husky was much faster and full on _tackled_ him to the ground, paws on Alex’s shoulders as it attacked his face with its tongue. Alex only laughed harder, arms slung happily around the dog as he scratched its neck.

Ryland felt something squeeze in his chest, a rush of warmth filling up his heart. He was frozen, eyes locked on Alex as he struggled to his feet, the husky trying desperately to attack his face again. Alex’s eyes caught his. His smile widened and he waved, big and enthusiastic. Ryland felt his face warm and he looked away, suddenly very keen on adding finishing touches to his sandcastle.

After a few minutes of _completely focused_ sandcastle smoothing, Ryland heard the thud of footsteps coming towards him. Without looking up, he asked, “So, you collecting shells now?”

Alex laughed and Ryland heard the sound of more shells being added to the pile. “Nah, they’re for your castle!” He stepped next to Ryland and whistled. “Or, kingdom. Damn.”

Ryland shrugged, but he could already feel a smile coming on again at Alex’s praise. “Where would we put them? There’s not like there are spots for them-”

“Oh, ye of little imagination,” Alex said, gesturing at the entire kingdom. “Roofs, carts, windows! There’s so many possibilities!” Alex grinned at him, a stray piece of hair curling over his eye and fuck, Ryland didn’t want to say no.

“Alright,” He said slowly, turning to eye up the pile. He reached over and scooped up a handful. Alex did the same, although he scooped up so many they were practically raining from his arms. Ryland rolled his eyes, taking some from him in an effort to balance things. Alex gasped, grasping his remaining shells tighter to his chest.

“You thief!” He cried, taking a step backward. “Leave my babies alone!”

“They’re shells,” Ryland said dryly, starting to set some shells down on his tallest tower. He did his best to overlap them like roof tiles would, but it still looked annoyingly haphazard. He plucked them off and started again.

“They’re my _children_ , Ry. How dare you.” Alex started making cooing noises at the shells and Ryland tried to ignore him. Once Alex realized he was being ignored, however, he sidled back up to Ryland’s side. “Apologize,” He demanded, holding out his ‘shell children.’ Ryland huffed a laugh and continued ignoring him, a bit more satisfied with the pattern this time.

“Ry, apologize,” Alex whined, leaning more heavily on Ryland’s side. Ryland glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, then back at his castle.

“You gonna help me, or not?” Ryland asked, moving onto the main castle roof. Alex was silent a few minutes, obviously debating whether it was worth trying to bug Ryland some more before he conceded with a heavy sigh. He felt Alex kiss the top of his head briefly before he began working on the other tower. And even though the entire castle was lopsided as all hell by the time they finished, Ryland was too content to care.


End file.
